The Baltimore Orioles and Tampa Bay Rays consummated their third big trade in the past two years, as the Orioles acquired much-needed starting pitching in right-handed starter Shane Baz, in exchange for an impressive and freshly drafted prospect package.
The teams announced Dec. 19 that the Orioles will receive Baz in exchange for 2025 draftees Caden Bodine and Slater de Brun, along with pitching prospect Michael Forret, outfielder Austin Overn and the 33rd overall pick in the 2026 draft, a competitive balance selection. It continued a busy day for the Rays, who added seven players to their portfolio, with two more coming in the three-way deal that saw them ship Brandon Lowe to Pittsburgh.
Baz, 26, gives the Orioles a potentially dominant piece of their rotation, even as he continues the ramp-up from Tommy John surgery that erased his entire 2023 season. Baz returned to make 14 starts with a 3.06 ERA in 2024, then ramped his innings pitched total to 166 in 2025, even as his ERA spiked to 4.87. Yet his 2025 road ERA of 3.86 was far better than his 5.90 mark at Steinbrenner Field, the hitter-friendly, wind-swept park the Rays used as repairs were made to Tropicana Field.
That’s a pretty good starting point heading to 2026, when Baz shouldn’t face innings restrictions and may be best poised to reclaim the form that saw him strike out 12.2 batters per nine innings in his major league glimpses with the Rays in 2021 and 2022.
Baz is also under team control for three seasons, aligning with franchise cornerstones Gunnar Henderson and Adley Rutschman and newly signed slugger Pete Alonso, who received a five-year, $155 million deal.
He folds into an Orioles rotation helmed by right-hander Kyle Bradish and lefty Trevor Rogers, taking significant pressure off Bradish and Tyler Wells, who are bouncing back from elbow surgeries of their own. The Orioles are still expected to explore further starting pitching reinforcements.
In return, the Rays got a relatively deluxe package of prospects, led by catcher Bodine, an on-base savant and the 30th overall pick out of Coastal Carolina in July’s draft; he can catch and play outfield. The Rays also snagged de Brun, a prep outfielder from Oregon drafted 37th overall in July.
De Brun was ranked sixth overall in the Orioles’ still-strong farm system by MLB Pipeline, while Bodine and Forret – who struck out 91 in 74 innings across high A and AA in 2025 – are ranked 10th and 11th.
While AL East rivals, the Orioles and Rays have not shied away from big deals. The Orioles acquired right-hander Zach Eflin from Tampa Bay in 2024, and shipped reliever Bryan Baker to the Rays in July in exchange for a competitive-balance draft pick.
That pick was used on de Brun – who finds himself a Ray eventually, anyway.